Always Attract
by KitKat0219
Summary: Eli has yet to tell Clare he's ready for a girlfriend, but when he sees her kissing another guy, he doesn't want to hear her side of the story. Clare is determined to make him listen, though.   ECLARE FLUFF, BOILING POINT TIMEZONE.   For the broken hearts


A/N: Hello, lovely people! This is an ECLARE one-shot, and it's taking place in the **Boiling Point!**

**THEY HAVE NOT DATED YET IN THIS!**

I don't own Degrassi. If I did….Eclare would still be together. Title credit goes to the song Always Attract. I don't own that either.

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><p>Summary: Eli has yet to tell Clare he's ready for a girlfriend, but when he sees her kissing another guy, he doesn't want to hear her side of the story. Clare is determined to make him listen, though.<p>

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><p><em>Eli<em>

Eli hurried down the steps, making his way to the picnic table he, Clare and Adam sat at for lunch every afternoon. He was happier than usual today, and a huge, uncharacteristic smile was plastered on his face.

Today was _the_ day.

He had spent the last few weeks in deep thought about Julia, his hoarding, and Clare. More specifically, his feelings for her – and the feelings he hoped she still reciprocated. What he determined was that life was too short (something he learned the hard way) and that his time is _now_. He was ready for Clare, ready to make her _his_.

Only moments later, their table was in sight and his eyes squinted when he saw a curly-headed girl kissing a fairly tall brunette boy. His pace quickened, watching as the girl pulled away, looking over and directly making eye contact with him.

His heart sank. It was Clare. The boy, Luke, he recognized, had a smug expression on his face while Clare's was shocked and nervous. Rage and jealousy built up inside him, but what hit Eli the hardest was the hurt. The betrayal.

"Clare."

He said nothing else.

He knew that Clare could read him perfectly – a sign of how close they had gotten – and she reached toward him with one hand, her eyes begging him to mirror the action, to talk to her.

But no matter how much he loved her, he knew he couldn't. He couldn't subject himself to that pain again. He had been so confident that they would get together - then he witnessed _that_.

With a slight, disbelieving shake of his head, he turned away, ignoring her pleas to talk as he stalked to Dawes' room until class began.

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><p><em>Clare<em>

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

Clare was angry. Very, _very_ angry. Her voice was low and even, yet the underlying anger was threatening to seep through.

She looked in Eli's direction again, watching him walk away. Away from her. She yelled his name, needing to explain. He had tried to mask his pain, but she saw right through that. He didn't stop, though; it was like he didn't give her a second thought.

Clare turned back to Luke, the sound of his voice pulling her back to reality.

"I told you, Clare. The kid's an atheist! Don't you know what that means? He doesn't believe in God!" She scoffed at his condescending tone. Of _course_ she knew what an atheist was. "I had to scare him off. Being with him is practically a sin-."

And that's when she did it.

She slapped him.

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><p><em>Adam<em>

Adam looked at Clare, wide-eyed. First, she cussed. Granted, it was only 'hell', but coming from her, this was big. _Then_, she slapped him. Not that he minded. He was pretty pissed too; that little stunt he pulled was downright cruel. He _knew_ Eli was devastated. He saw it all over his face.

He watched as Clare said something that only Luke could hear, her face red with anger. Luke still looked shocked, and Adam stood up as Clare stormed off. He was smirking heavily, and he gave Luke a look, knowing he didn't have to say anything.

Clare handled that already.

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><p><em>Eli<em>

"Eli, please, it's not what you think. Please, let me explain."

Eli heard the angelic voice in the seat directly behind him, pleading with him to talk to her. His heart raced and his stomach tightened, but he didn't let that break him. He focused on Dawes' lesson, hearing a defeated sigh come from Clare a few minutes later.

Eli eventually tuned Dawes out, getting lost in his thoughts, until a folded piece of paper with 'Eli' scribbled in Adam's hand-writing landed on his desk.

_You should really talk to Clare._

He let out an annoyed sigh. Since when was this Adam's business?

_I'd rather not. I saw all I needed to see. Not like I care about what I saw, anyway._

This time it was Adam who let out an annoyed sigh. He wrote furiously, throwing it on Eli's desk moments later.

_Like hell you don't. You're pissed, and we both know it. Hell, _everyone_ knows it. I hate to break it to you, but you are _not_ the most subtle person. Just grow a pair and talk to her already. It really isn't what you think._

Thoroughly irritated now, Eli didn't reply, just waited for the bell to ring, hoping it would be soon. All he wanted was to escape this hell-hole and go home to wallow in self-pity. For once that day, luck was on his side and the bell rang minutes later. He was halfway out the door when he felt a small hand grab his arm.

"We're talking. I won't take no for an answer."

"I don't want to talk to you, Clare. Ever."

The coldness was evident in his tone, and he almost regretted it when he saw a look of hurt pass over Clare's face. She stood silently, most likely thinking of a way to respond, and Eli took advantage of that, sweeping out the door and into the hallway.

Not surprisingly, Clare followed.

"Elijah Goldsworthy, get your ass back here."

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><p><em>Clare<em>

Eli turned around, and Clare smirked internally.

"Did you just cuss?"

Amusement was playing across his features, and Clare rolled her eyes. Leave it to Eli to point something like that out at a time like this.

"That's beside the point. We need to talk."

"No, we really don't," he said dryly, his expression and eyes instantly darkening. She swallowed nervously; she expected him to at least hear her out.

"Yes, w-."

"Listen, Clare. I don't want to _talk_," he began, stepping closer to her with every word, "about how I saw you kissing Luke, about how this time, it was _you_ who led _me_ on and broke _my_ heart." Eli was directly in front of her, only inches away, and she could faintly see that there were unshed tears in his eyes. His voice was loud, and students in the hallway were starting to stop and stare.

"You don't underst-."

"I understand perfectly."

Eli's attitude was really beginning to frustrate her. He was acting like he knew everything that happened, and he didn't. He saw one little thing and he assumed he knew the whole story.

It was pissing her off.

"No, Eli-."

"Goodbye, Clare."

And then he was doing it again.

Walking away without listening to her side of the story.

She called his name, tears now filling her own eyes. Luke messed everything up; she really, truly liked Eli. A lot. In fact, she would even say she loved him. And since she _did _love him, she was determined to make him hear her out.

So, she did the only thing she could think of to do to get his attention. She slipped one of her black flats off, and threw it at his back.

A few laughs were heard as Eli turned around, bewilderment coloring his expression.

"Did you just…throw your shoe at me?"

Clare's cheeks tinted pink at the realization at what she had just done; it was a rash, impulsive decision that she hadn't thought through.

"You weren't listening to me," she tried to reason, her heart coming up in her throat as he approached her once more.

"Well...I'm listening now."

She felt herself getting lost in his intense stare, her mind drawing a blank. Everything she had planned to say escaped her, and she was now alarmingly aware of the large audience they had.

"I-I didn't kiss him, I promise. He kissed me! He didn't…'approve of you'," she admitted, whispering the last part so only he could hear. Eli snorted loudly, rolling his eyes. Judgment was something he would never be able to avoid. "He didn't like that I was so close to you, so he tried to scare you off. I didn't want to kiss him, Eli. Please, believe me."

Her tone was bordering on desperate as she looked into Eli's eyes, willing him to believe her. She couldn't lose him; it would break her.

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><p><em>Eli<em>

He listened to the younger girl's story, instantly feeling regret for not listening to her in the first place. "I'm sorry, Clare. I jumped to conclusions because I was jealous and hurt and angry…I'm sorry."

Relief was obvious on her face as she threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. His heart fluttered at her proximity and his arms wound around her waist. "It's okay, I understand." She paused, giggling a bit. "I think you're pretty cute when you're jealous, though."

Clare broke the hug, her cheeks still dusted a light pink that Eli found adorable. His smile was replaced with a small frown and his body yearned for her closeness.

"I think you're pretty cute all the time," he replied, giving her a smirk. Truth be told, her little compliment had boosted his ego big time, and gave him the push he needed to tell her how he felt. After the whole incident today, he had doubted telling her, but he changed his mind.

The time was _now_.

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><p><em>Clare<em>

Clare blushed, her stomach churning with delight. She glanced around, glad to see that the majority of the students were no longer watching them, now that their screaming had died down.

"Thanks," she mumbled, looking down at the ground. She slowly brought her gaze back to Eli's, a small smile playing on her lips.

"Clare."

"Eli."

"I don't need any more time."

Her heart skipped a beat.

"W-What?"

Her lips trembled.

"I love you."

Her heart skipped another beat.

"I love you, too."

Her eyes fluttered closed as Eli leaned down, pressing his lips to hers. His hands cupped her face, his calloused thumbs gently rubbing her smooth, flushed cheeks.

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><p><em>Adam<em>

Adam was walking down the hallway, whistling 'Moves Like Jagger' when he saw a couple making out in front of the locker. He rolled his eyes, thinking they were just some crazy hormonal teenagers before he realized it was Eli and Clare. He debated the idea of letting them kiss in peace, but that just wasn't who he was.

He quietly made his way directly behind Eli, snickering to himself. "BOO!"

Eli and Clare both jumped, clearly frightened. Adam couldn't hold his obnoxious laugh in; their faces were priceless. Eli glared at Adam, looking like he was ready to kill. "Sorry, sorry. I couldn't help myself!" He put his hands up in mock surrender, and Eli rolled his eyes.

"You have ten seconds before I come after you."

"…I should get going."

"Good choice."

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><p>AN: Well. I don't enjoy this ending. But. Hey it's whatever.

or the fact that this was rushed

i was trying to finish it

yeah

okay

i dont like this that much

but

I hope you Eclare shippers enjoyed this at least a little bit, especially after these promos.

Asdflkjasdflk.

Reviews are lovely.

Just saying.

;)


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